A "solar" swimming pool cover consists of a sheet of plastic material having encased air pockets or bubbles throughout the length and width of the cover. Such a cover is placed directly on the surface of the water in the pool to insulate the body of water, prevent evaporative cooling and, by concentrating sunlight into the water, heat the same. The cover is buoyantly supported on the water and the surface tension between the water and the underside of the cover is sufficient to retain the cover in place even during high winds. For this reason and because "solar" covers are not designed as safety covers, they are not provided with edge attachments such as are used with other types of pool covers such as winter covers that are permanent installations meant to support significant weight.
The lack of edge support for a "solar" or bouyantly supported pool cover, however, presents a major safety hazard, particularly to yound children. If a child steps or falls onto the cover edge, this edge rolls downwardly, dropping the child into the water and under the cover. The cover returns to its undisturbed position within seconds thereby rapidly dampening any wave action and obscures the child from view. Also, such covers are sufficiently opaque as to make viewing of the pool bottom difficult and confusing. As a result, even if a searcher looks for the child in the pool within seconds after the child has fallen in, the pool appears undisturbed and the searcher is likely to look elsewhere. Tragic instances of yound children drowning or suffering brain damage under these circumstances have occurred.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide an edge retainer for a buoyantly supported pool cover which retainer prevents the cover edges from rolling downwardly into the water in the event the cover is loaded near the edge, as by a young child falling thereon.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide such an edge retainer which does not significantly complicate the processes of placing the cover on the pool or removing the same therefrom and, indeed, enhances such placement and removal.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of such an edge retainer which is readily applied to existing pool walls and covers or incorporated in newly manufactured pools and covers without major expense.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of a simple and effective technique for retaining the pool cover in place under heavy wind conditions and for preventing inadvertent folds and ripples in the cover.